Halloween may be over, but horror movies have no limit on enjoyment. As one of the most prolific and profitable subgenres in cinema, audiences are always in the mood for some spooky scaries. Fortunately, thanks to the accessibility of streaming services, places like Netflix are home to a plethora of chilling choices. Between original offerings and licensed titles, there’s a horror movie for anyone and everyone. To get you started, we’ve tracked down some of the must-see horror titles currently available to stream on Netflix.
Oh, and when you're done here, be sure to also check out our Best 90s Horror Movies list, or our Best 25 Horror Movies of All Time.
Best Movies on Netflix by Genre:
Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms. This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix and to include more horror movies that are now available on the service.
Fans of POV/found footage horror films, rejoice, because Creep is one of the best in this style. In Patrick Brice’s directorial debut, Creep follows a filmmaker named Aaron who answers a strange man named Josef’s online ad to film him for the day, the final request of a man claiming to be dying of cancer hoping to make a video for his unborn child. Upon arrival, Aaron realizes that there’s something super weird about Josef and with the camera constantly rolling, we witness the absurdity and danger in store for Aaron. Come for the wild as hell Mark Duplass performance, stay for the Peachfuzz mask. If you love it, Netflix also has the sequel — Creep 2.
Leigh Janiak was the talk of the summer when Netflix dropped the cinematic trilogy based on the popular book series by “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, Fear Street. The Fear Street trilogy brought three separate movies to tell one cohesive story about the cursed town of Shadyside and the inhabitants impacted by generational horror. Each film is predominantly set in a different time period, delivering a little treat for fans of slashers, hauntings, teen horror, queer horror, and folk horror. The three films work best when watched all together, but each film can successfully stand on its own, making it a must-see trilogy.
Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game was considered to be his “unfilmable” work, but if anyone is capable of proving King wrong, it’s Mike Flanagan. The man behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Hush, Doctor Sleep, and others successfully tackled Gerald’s Game and provided one of Netflix’s best original horror releases. Gerald’s Game is a terrifying descent into madness and home to a dynamite leading performance by Carla Gugino.
Remi Weekes truly made something special with His House, arguably one of the scariest films on the Netflix roster. A haunted house story on the surface, His House centers on a refugee couple escaping war-torn Sudan only to find that the English town they’ve fled to may be just as harrowing as the land they left. The source of the film’s horror lies not just with the supernatural elements, but also with themes of grief, guilt, abandonment, xenophobia, and assimilation. It’s a powerful haunt that will linger with you long after the credits roll.
If you’re looking for a film to make you feel even more paranoid and fearful of strangers around you than a pandemic has already made you, It Follows is the film for you. Based on the simple yet soul-stirring concept that no matter what, something is constantly coming toward you, It Follows is filled with creeping dread, effective jump scares, and a score guaranteed to raise your blood pressure.
If there’s one area where Netflix thrives with their horror offerings, it’s with their international selection of scares. Genre fans have been praising the work of Timo Tjahjanto for years with his standout shorts in The ABCs of Death and V/H/S/2, but his feature film work in Indonesia is arguably his best, and Netflix’ acquisition has brought his work to mainstream Western audiences. In May The Devil Take You, a young woman visits her father’s former home trying to find the answer regarding his mysterious illness, only to discover the horrifying truth about his past.
French director Julia Ducournau has recently made waves with her Palme d'Or win for her film Titane, but Netflix is the home to her incredible debut feature, the coming-of-age cannibal film, Raw. A young vegetarian named Justine goes away to veterinary school and consumes meat for the first time in an attempt to fit in with her peers. Unfortunately, this taste of meat ignites the truth about Justine’s nature that had been hiding within her all along, and sends her on a path of destruction, violence, and flesh eating mayhem.
Go into The Perfection as clueless as possible (but be aware of some triggering rape stuff), because half the fun of this psychological horror film is trying (and failing) to guess just what happens next. Allison Wiliams plays a former cello prodigy who returns to her prestigious music school to find that she’s been replaced by the new star student, Lizzie played by Logan Browning. The Perfection plays with exploitation film conventions and completely subverts them on their head in absolutely unpredictable ways. It’s a wild thrill ride and truly, perfection.
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Oh, and when you're done here, be sure to also check out our Best 90s Horror Movies list, or our Best 25 Horror Movies of All Time.
Best Movies on Netflix by Genre:
- Best action movies on Netflix
- Best comedy movies on Netflix
- Best sci-fi movies on Netflix
- Best drama movies on Netflix
- Best horror TV shows on Netflix
- Best anime series on Netflix
- Best superhero movies and TV shows on Netflix
- Best Netflix original movies
Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms. This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix and to include more horror movies that are now available on the service.
Creep
Fans of POV/found footage horror films, rejoice, because Creep is one of the best in this style. In Patrick Brice’s directorial debut, Creep follows a filmmaker named Aaron who answers a strange man named Josef’s online ad to film him for the day, the final request of a man claiming to be dying of cancer hoping to make a video for his unborn child. Upon arrival, Aaron realizes that there’s something super weird about Josef and with the camera constantly rolling, we witness the absurdity and danger in store for Aaron. Come for the wild as hell Mark Duplass performance, stay for the Peachfuzz mask. If you love it, Netflix also has the sequel — Creep 2.
The Fear Street Trilogy
Leigh Janiak was the talk of the summer when Netflix dropped the cinematic trilogy based on the popular book series by “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, Fear Street. The Fear Street trilogy brought three separate movies to tell one cohesive story about the cursed town of Shadyside and the inhabitants impacted by generational horror. Each film is predominantly set in a different time period, delivering a little treat for fans of slashers, hauntings, teen horror, queer horror, and folk horror. The three films work best when watched all together, but each film can successfully stand on its own, making it a must-see trilogy.
Gerald’s Game
Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game was considered to be his “unfilmable” work, but if anyone is capable of proving King wrong, it’s Mike Flanagan. The man behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Hush, Doctor Sleep, and others successfully tackled Gerald’s Game and provided one of Netflix’s best original horror releases. Gerald’s Game is a terrifying descent into madness and home to a dynamite leading performance by Carla Gugino.
His House
Remi Weekes truly made something special with His House, arguably one of the scariest films on the Netflix roster. A haunted house story on the surface, His House centers on a refugee couple escaping war-torn Sudan only to find that the English town they’ve fled to may be just as harrowing as the land they left. The source of the film’s horror lies not just with the supernatural elements, but also with themes of grief, guilt, abandonment, xenophobia, and assimilation. It’s a powerful haunt that will linger with you long after the credits roll.
It Follows
If you’re looking for a film to make you feel even more paranoid and fearful of strangers around you than a pandemic has already made you, It Follows is the film for you. Based on the simple yet soul-stirring concept that no matter what, something is constantly coming toward you, It Follows is filled with creeping dread, effective jump scares, and a score guaranteed to raise your blood pressure.
May The Devil Take You
If there’s one area where Netflix thrives with their horror offerings, it’s with their international selection of scares. Genre fans have been praising the work of Timo Tjahjanto for years with his standout shorts in The ABCs of Death and V/H/S/2, but his feature film work in Indonesia is arguably his best, and Netflix’ acquisition has brought his work to mainstream Western audiences. In May The Devil Take You, a young woman visits her father’s former home trying to find the answer regarding his mysterious illness, only to discover the horrifying truth about his past.
Raw
French director Julia Ducournau has recently made waves with her Palme d'Or win for her film Titane, but Netflix is the home to her incredible debut feature, the coming-of-age cannibal film, Raw. A young vegetarian named Justine goes away to veterinary school and consumes meat for the first time in an attempt to fit in with her peers. Unfortunately, this taste of meat ignites the truth about Justine’s nature that had been hiding within her all along, and sends her on a path of destruction, violence, and flesh eating mayhem.
The Perfection
Go into The Perfection as clueless as possible (but be aware of some triggering rape stuff), because half the fun of this psychological horror film is trying (and failing) to guess just what happens next. Allison Wiliams plays a former cello prodigy who returns to her prestigious music school to find that she’s been replaced by the new star student, Lizzie played by Logan Browning. The Perfection plays with exploitation film conventions and completely subverts them on their head in absolutely unpredictable ways. It’s a wild thrill ride and truly, perfection.
Continue reading...